Door hanger and track construction



Feb. 4, 1969 E. HALPERN DOOR HANGER AND TRACK CONSTRUCTION Sheet Al. of5 Filed May 4, 1966 HIV sin

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INVENTOR. ERNST HALPERN ATTORNEY Feb. 4, 1969 E. HALPERN 3,425,162

DOOR HANGER AND TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed May 4. 1966` Sheet 2 of 5INVENTOR. ERNST HALPERN ATTORNEY Feb. 4, 1969 E. HALPERN l 3,425,162

DOOR HANGER AND TRACK CONSTRUCTION iled May 4,' 1966A sheet 3 cfs' FIG.5

INVENTOR. ERNST HALPERN www ATTORNEY United States Patent O 3,425,162DOOR HANGER AND TRACK CONSTRUCTION Ernst Halpern, Plainview, N.Y.,assignor to Williamsburg Steel Products Company, Brooklyn, N.Y., acorporation of New York Filed May 4, 1966, Ser. No. 554,253 U.S. Cl.49-425 Int. Cl. Ed 13/02, 15/06 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Ahanger for elevator doors is characterized by a hanger plate which issupported by a shaft having an eccentric axle. A hanger rotatable on theaxle glides on a The present invention relates to means for hangingdoors and guiding them along tracks and particularly to said meansutilized in connection with elevator doors.

In the construction -of elevator doors, it is desirable to haveavailable means for varying the level of the doors to compensate for thevariations attributable to manufacturing and installation tolerances. By'being able to adjust the level of the door, it is possible to installthe latter with assurance that it operate in a smooth manner While inservice. Jamming or poor operation of the doors often results because ofthe absence of such adjustability features. Heretofore, thisadjustability of the elevator doors was accomplished through theapplication of shims at the proper locations. The shimming process is atrialand-error one, and it involves much tedious labor. Theadjustability feature was also accmoplished through such means anddevices as disclosed in Patents No. 3,065,826 and 3,105,272 to Tucker.In the latter, the adjusting means are not of a positive locking typewhich can be relied upon to hold its set position because they aredesigned to depend largely on frictional effects. In addition, the trackmeans heretofore utilized in connection with door hanger constructionswere cumbersome, difficult to assemble and expensive.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means foradjusting the level of hanging doors in a positive-locking manner.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means whichassures that the door suspended from hangers riding on track, cannotbecome derailed while in service.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a unitary,integral track means for the hanger assembly utilizing a minimum numberof operating parts.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a hanging doorconstruction lby means of which the hanging hardware for the door may beassembled independently from the associated track support.

A yet further object of the present invention is to provide meansadapted for -hanging two-speed doors whose levels may be adjustedindependently of one another.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a moreeconomical adapter by which the doors and associated hanging hardwareare supported by the door frame.

Other objects and advantages -of the present invention 3,425,162Patented F eb. 4, 1969 appear in the following description andspecification ac companied -by drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front View showing the installation of a single-speed doorwith hangers and track assembled in place;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIGURE l, and showsthe construction of the hanger elements as well as the track associatedwith hangers;

FIGURE 3 is a front view taken along line `3 3 of FIGURE 2, and showsthe means by which the hangers are locked in place after they have beenadjusted to the desired position;

FIGURE 4 is a front view showing an installation with two-speed doorswith the hangers and track assembled in place;

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5 5 of FIGURE 4, and showsthe constructional details for hanging two-speed doors.

FIGURE 6 is a framentary view showing the slotted construction of thetrack by which the position of the track is made adjustable.

A hanger for elevator doors is characterized by a hanger plate mountedon a shaft having an eccentric axle assembly. The hanger plate has atleast one aperture. The axle assembly comprises a section upon which ahanger is freely rotatable. The hanger is movable on a track locatedwithin a channel. A collar is interposed between the section on whichthe hanger is freely rotatable and the hanger plate. The collar has aplurality of circumferentially spaced holes for receiving a fastenerassembly. Rotation of the shaft, brings an aperture in the hanger plateinto registration with one of the holes in the collar. A locking platehaving cut-outs for the fastening means is fixed to the hanger plate toprevent in advertent loosening of the fastening means. A relativelysmall adapter is mounted outside the door frame in proximity to the doorjamb for supporting the track.

FIGURE l shows the arrangement of the track and hangers with respect tothe door. The door 10 is supported by two hangers 11 situated at the topof the door. The hangers are, in turn, suspended from the chanel 12. Avertical strut 13 supports and retains channel 12 in position. The baseof the door extends towards the floor sill 14 which rests upon supports15. The latter maintain the floor sill above the building floor 16 atthe proper distance. For the purpose of levelling and aligning the floorsill accurately, the supports 15 are made adjustable to allow forvariations in their heights and hence in the distance that the Hoor sillis situated with respect to the building floor. The base of the door 10`may be guided by a slot which generally prevails in the floor sill.Guidance members 17 fixed to the base of the door, extend into the slotof the floor sill, and thus confine the door to move along the directedpath.

The manner in which the hangers of the door are situated on the track,is illustrated in FIGURE 2. Channel 12 is fastened to the adapter 18which is xed to the door frame 19. The adapting member 18 may containthreaded holes to hold bolts 20 used to fasten the channel member 12 inplace. Sheet metal structure 21 is interposed between channel 12 andadapter 18 to form the support for fascia plates used to cover the areawithin the elevator shaft between oors. Fascia plates are a requirementof the building codes for the safety of passengers.

Integral with channel member 12 is a track 22 for the hangers of thedoor. This track fastened to the channel member by means of bolts 23,has one of its edges shaped in the form of a bead 24. Track 22 has Iaslot 22a rather than merely a hole through which bolt 23 passes. Thispermits the track to be adjustable with respect to channel 12. Thearrangement is shown in FIGURE 6. Door hanger 25 has a groove 25a shapedto match the curvature of the bead. Hanger 25 is a wheel that is freelyrotatable, through bearings 26b, about the axle 26. The latter has, atits end, a shoulder 26a to prevent the hanger from sliding off the axle.In view of its rotatable property, the hanger rides freely along thebead 24 when the door is moved correspondingly. The weight of the dooris transmitted to the hanger 25 which, in turn, transmits it to thechannel member 12 by means of track 22.

The side panels of the door are joined -at the top through means of thechannel member 27. A hanger plate 28 is situated within the channel 27.Angle member 29 serves to fix in place, hanger plate 28. It is thefunction of the hanger plate to support the axle 26 as well as relatedhardware. The axle of roller 30, for example, is also supported `by thehanger plate. By bearing on the lower surface of channel 12, roller 30assures that hanger '25 remains in contact with bead 24 at all times. Inthis manner, there is no danger that the hanger may become derailed.

Axle 26 is eccentrically located with respect to the threaded shaft 31.The bearing collar between the threaded shaft 31 and axle 26 serves as abearing surface against which hanger 25 may rest or rotate. Axle 26,collar 32, and shaft 31 are all fixed to one another, and may be formedby, for example, machining a single, solid piece of stock. These partsmay also be integrally formed through other manufacturing processesincluding forgmg.

Since axle 26 is situated in an eccentric manner with respect to shaft31, the rotation of the latter causes hanger plate 28 to be raised orlowered with respect to bead 24. This makes possible, therefore, theraising and lowering of the door, since the door is coupled to thehanger by means of the plate 28. Accordingly, the door may be levelledand its position may be varied in the desired manner. Roller 30 issimilarly mounted in an eccentric fashion with respect to the shaft 33.In this way roller 30 may be raised or lowered correspondingly to hanger25. Thus, regardless of the amount that hanger 25 is raised or lowered,roller 30 may be raised or lowered by an equal amount. The surface ofroller 30, therefore, may always be brought to bear against theunderside of channel 12, and this feature prevents hanger 25 frombecoming derailed in any one of its possible positions. The eccentricityof roller 30 with respect to its shaft 33, is evident form FIGURE 3.

After threaded shaft 31 has been turned so that hanger 25 is in thedesired position, the shaft and hence axle 26 is fastened in place bytightening lock nut 34. By tightening the lock nut in place, the shaftand axle assembly is firmly held by hanger plate 28. Thus collar 32bears against one side of the plate 28, while lock nut 34 bears againstthe other side of the plate. The shaft assembly of roller 30 may besimilarly `fixed in position through the tightening of lock nut 35. Theshaft 33 is threaded so that the lock nut may be turned firmly againstthe hanger plate 28.

To prevent the lock nuts 34 and 35 from becoming loose while in service,locking plate 36 is mounted onto the hanger plate 28. The locking platehas cut-outs which match and coincide with the peripheral shape of thelocking nuts. Accordingly, when locking plate 36 is fastened in place bymeans of screws 37 and 38, cut-outs 39 and 40 pass directly over thenuts and prevent them from turning inadvertently. In this manner, theshafts 31 and 33 are always held tightly in place.

In order to not rely solely on friction to hold hanger 25 in the desiredposition, the collar 32 has a number of holes 41 spaced around its face.Screw 38 which is held in a threaded hole in the hanger plate 28,extends also into the holes 41, and thus secures the hanger axle 26 inplace. The number and spacing of the holes 41 are such -as to allow forvarying adjustments of the door height. Thus, in the absence of holes41, the entire weight of the door would have to be supported by thefrictional forces generated between collar 32 and hanger plate 28 due tothe tightening of nut 34 on threaded shaft 31. This results from thefact that axle 26 is eccentric with respect to shaft 31, and thereforehanger 25 which supports the weight of the door, tends to rotate theaxle about the shaft. Although friction prevailing between the surfaceof collar 32 and plate 28 may, initially, prove adequate, creepageeffects within shaft 31 as well as the stressed surface will tend toreduce, in time, the frictional forces available for supporting thedoor. Through the application of holes 41, therefore, axle 26 issecurely locked in place after the door has been adjusted to the desiredlevel, and screw 38 has been inserted in the appropriate one of holes41. Experience has shown that 4 or 5 holes 41 sufiice to cover the rangeof required leveling positions.

The locking plate 36 has cut-outs that are identical to those of 39 and40, and the hole for screw 38. All of these cut-outs and holes aresymmetrically located, and therefore they allow the locking plate to beused for either the left side (position 36') or right side (position36") of the door as shown in FIGURE 1. By making the locking plateinterchangeable, in this manner, it is not necessary to manufacture twotypes of locking plates. Screws 37 and 38 serve two separate functions.They prevent collar 32 from turning, and hold the locking plate 36 inplace. FIGURE 3, therefore, shows screw 37 because the latter aids inholding the locking plate even through it is not used for locking acollar 32 in this particular configuration.

When the hangers are used in conjunction with twospeed doors, thearrangement that prevails is shown in FIGURES 4 and 5. In this case twodoors (10 and 10a) must be suspended. The elements and procedures forhanging door 10, in this situation, is identical to that alreadydescribed. To hang the door 10a, the coupling plate 42 is fastened tochannel 12 by means of bolt 43. Channel 12a is, in turn, fastened to theplate 42 by means of bolt 44. The hole in plate 42 through which bolt 44passes, iS slotted to permit adjustment in the position of channel 12a.The principle for this slotted construction is similar to thatillustrated in FIGURE 6 for the track. Channel 12a is identical tochannel 12 with the exception that holes for bolts 20, `are not requiredin channel 12a. All other elements associated with the hanging of door10a are also indentical with those of door 10. Thus, hanger 25h, roller30a and hanger plate 28a, for example, are identical to thecorresponding members 25, 30 and 28, respectively. The only essentialdifference that may be observed in the hanging hardware for the twodoors 10 and 10a, is the bolt 23. Through the application of this bolt,it is possible to isolate channel 12 from all of the elements associatedwith the hanging of the doors. This particular feature is useful forallowing different work groups to engage in the installation of theelevator doors. Member 45 serves to cover the hanging hardware of thedoors. This angular member is held by channel 12a and the coupling plate42.

The configuration of FIGURE 4 is referred to as a twospeed system todistinguish it from FIGURE l which is a single-speed system. In FIGURE 4the doors open towards the right, and door 10a is required to traveltwice the distance that door 10 travels, in order to be situated undermember 45 where they are in their open positions. Since they arrive atthis destination at approximately the same time, door 10a must travel atapproximately twice the speed of door 10, and hence the system is namedtwospeed. In FIGURE 1, only one door is used, Iand therefore the systemis designated as a single-speed one.

Center-opening doors may also be utilized for purposes of opening andclosing door passages. In center-opening doors two single cooperatingdoors are synchronized to move in opposite directions when opening orclosing. When closed, these doors meet at the center of the doorpassage, and for this reason they are designated center-opening doors.When open, on the other hand, the doors are situated on opposite sidesof the door frame. To hang such center-opening doors, the arrangement ofFIGURES 1 and 2 is applied separately to each one of the two singlecooperating doors.

An additional feature of the present invention is the Vdesign by which areduction in length of the adapter 18 is made possible. Heretofore, arelatively thick header was provided extending the full length of thepath of travel of the doors. The construction was costly and cumbersome.In accodance with the present invention, however, an adapter 18 isprovided and the door is trimmed by means of the narrow member 21. Thisconstruction obtains all of the benets ofthe prior art but is far lesscostly and easier to construct and erect.

While this invention has been described in some detail, it will beunderstood that this description is merely illustrative and variationsand modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereofor the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A door hanger and track construction characterized by a hanger platemounted on a shaft, the hanger plate having at least one aperture, anaxle assembly eccentrically located with respect to the shaft forsupporting the door hanger, the axle assembly comprising a section uponwhich a hanger is freely rotatable, and a colla-r interposed betweensaid section and the hanger plate, the collar having a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced holes adapted for receiving a fastenerassembly, said holes being registrable with said other aperture in thehanger plate upon rotation of the shaft.

2. The invention as defined in claim 1 including a door jamb wherein arelatively small sized adapter is mounted outside the door frame inproximity to the door jamb for supporting track.

3. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein a locking plate is fixedto said hanger plate, said locking plate having cut-outs for saidfastener and preventing inadvertent turning of said fastener.

4. The invention as defined in claim 1, wherein the axle assembly rideson a track, said track having slots through which fasteners pass to iixsaid track in place, said slots allowing said track to be adjustablypositioned.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein the said track is asubstantially L-shaped channel member provided with an apex adapted toslideably engage wheels and said fastener means for fastening saidchannel track to said door frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,907,144 5/1933 Brady 16-1052,904,848 9/ 1959 Lieberenz 49-409 3,105,272 10/1963 Tucker 16-105 X3,339,223 10/1967 Laby 16-105 FOREIGN PATENTS 724,032 1/ 1932 France.

990,057 4/ 1965 Great Britain.

293,035 12/ 1953 Switzerland.

DAVID I. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

I. KARL BELL, Assistant Examiner.

U.s. C1. X.R. 49-409; 16-105 i

